As they walked, Kate learned quite a bit about the women on this planet. Some women objected to their status, but few did anything about it. It was just the way things were. The men maintained firm control of the village leaderships. Any suggestions that women be given more control over their lives were always shot down by those in charge. It was a real Catch-22 for the women. They couldn’t become elders, so they couldn’t change policies that would allow them to become elders.
Not all women objected, of course. Many had loving masters, who treated them well and encouraged them to excel in areas that were traditionally female, such as cooking, raising children, or craftwork. Others objected to this narrow definition of their lives and tried to rebel in whatever way they could.
Sulala had the misfortune to be owned by a cruel master, which led to her revolt. One day, after a particularly bad beating for a minor infraction, Sulala managed to free herself later that night and run for the safety of the forest. Her “husband” or “master”—the words appeared to be interchangeable in the Baktu language—looked for her for a while, then gave up and bought a new slave.
When Sulala first arrived, there were just a handful of women in the forest, all living in fear—fear of staying in the forbidding woods and fear of returning home to abuse. They were disorganized, starving and demoralized. Sulala had the idea that there was strength in numbers. Through friends, she sent secret messages back to her village and those nearby, letting women know that there was an alternative to enduring bad masters. Soon, others filtered into the woods, finding the ragtag group, adding strength and talents to their camp.
Food was still a problem, however. Few of the women had learned to hunt effectively, so their efforts weren’t as successful as they had hoped. But they were learning. Kate was so moved by this that she vowed to zap a beast for them if she had the chance, and to hell with the Prime Directive.
It was slow going in the forest. It would have been far easier if they could come out to the edge of the plain and travel without obstacles. Of course, that would have exposed them to the slavers. They stayed to the trails unless they caught wind of an approaching traveler, then crept off to hide out until they could see who was approaching. Once it had been a single woman who had recently fled her master. She sobbed when she saw Sulala, knowing that she had found the Bakchari at last. The chief took her aside and greeted her quietly, then told her how to find the others back up the trail.
They camped off the trail, deeper into the woods. Sulala risked a small fire. They had only nuts and berries to eat until Kate said she was going hunting and left them by the fire as dusk approached. They had wanted to go with her. Kate told them she hunted better on her own. She crept through the forest until she found another small mammal and shot it with her phaser. When she returned, they were surprised at her success.
“Are you sure you do not want to join our camp?” Sulala asked. “We could use a skilled hunter.”
“I would very much like that, but I have to find my friends and return to our homeland,” Kate said.
Lilani skinned and cooked the beast. It was delicious. Tasted just like pork, Kate decided. Or maybe chicken. Thus sated, they agreed on a watch schedule and went to sleep. When it was Kate’s turn to keep watch, she sat with her scanner and gauged distances and tried to figure out what she would do to rescue her crew. She had a glimmer of a plan, now it was time to flesh it out. She sat there in the darkness, illuminated only by the glowing coals from the fire, and added details until she thought she just might stand a chance.
Chapter 26
Beth was changing her opinion of these people. When she first was captured, she felt the men were incredibly cruel toward women and the women were far too submissive for their own good. But living with Niktus and observing him, she could see women had more power here than she first thought. It all depended upon the man.
Niktus was a good man. He remained dominant, to be sure, because that was his nature. Still, he listened to Beth and took her advice on occasion. He knew she was smart and her race surpassed his own—the Utes and the other strange devices they had carried made that clear.
He also proved to be an incredible lover. Their couplings occurred morning and night. Hot, lusty sex like Beth had never experienced before. She couldn’t get enough of him. Beth had long since stopped worrying about what Greta might think of her actions. Greta even indicated she was a bit jealous of all the good lovin’ that was going on under her nose.
“Maybe when I recover, you’ll share him, hmmm?” She asked. Beth wasn’t sure if she was kidding or not.
When Beth told Niktus that she was a healer like him and the medical kit Gorshun had could help cure a lot of illnesses in the village, he became determined to buy it. He saw it as a way to increase his profits. The fact that it allowed Beth to do the job she had been trained to do was of secondary importance. She realized that profits were the men’s great weakness. They could be convinced to do many things if a good profit appeared at the end of it. She suspected the women here would know that too. Perhaps being a woman on this planet isn’t so bleak after all.
Niktus had gone alone to Gorshun’s hut, leaving Beth and Greta unchained for the first time. Niktus wasn’t overly concerned they might run away. He warned them that slaves were not permitted outside without a man present, otherwise, they might risk being declared “available” and claimed by another man. This was how many a cruel and unscrupulous master gained new slaves.
Greta and Beth decided not to risk it without well-thought-out plan. They sat and plotted how they might get away, inventing and rejecting various scenarios. The best idea was to steal the phasers and hide them. Then, at night, they could sneak to the houses of the other crew women and free them. Once they were all together, they may be able to blast their way free.
“If we’re going to be sneaking around anyway, we should sneak over to Gorshun’s and steal the whole bag,” Greta said. “As you know, we can’t leave anything behind.”
“True. Maybe we can get Niktus to help us. Otherwise, I don’t know how we’re going to slip away.”
“We could jump him and tie him up tonight.”
“No way. He’s been good to us.”
“Yes, I’ve noticed how good he is to you.”
Greta’s emphasis made Beth blush. “I can’t help what he does,” she said hurriedly.
“It’s OK,” Greta assured her. “I think he’s kinda cute myself.”
Beth was trying to come up with a retort when Niktus entered the hut. One look at his face and Beth knew something was up.
“What is wrong, Master Niktus?” She asked, using the formal title.
“I bought the potions box,” he began.
“Oh, that’s wonderful!” Beth responded, then stopped when his face didn’t reflect her excitement. His eyes shifted over to the commander.
“Uh oh,” Greta said.
Beth’s hand flew to her face. “You didn’t!”
“It was the only way he would make a deal. He was angry when he discovered how valuable the talking boxes were. He said he would only accept Greta back as payment.”
“Tell him no!” Beth blurted out. “He can’t have her!”
“Beth,” he said, pronouncing it “Beeth,” “you know I only bought Greta because I thought I could make a larger profit later, when she got better. A trade with Gorshun is fair. This box of potions will help us as healers.”
“No!—” Beth was just getting a head of steam up when Greta put her hand on her shoulder.